From Ten to One
by Ladie of Avalon
Summary: A meeting between Darien and Serena not like any other. One shot. AUrnEpilogue posted! Please don't read if you like the story open-ended.
1. From Ten to One

I do not and will not ever own Sailor Moon.

"blah blah blah" – spoken words

'blah blah blah' – character's thoughts

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"Hello?"

"Hey, honey. What are you doing?" A deep male voice asked through the telephone.

A giggle and a reply, "I'm changing Rini's diapers…she made a big mess…again."

The man let out a deep throaty chuckle, "Aww…you poor thing."

"Thanks…so why did you call? You're not going to be late again, are you?" She questioned.

The man felt a twinge of guilt as he answered reassuringly, "No, hon. I was just wondering if you could bring Rini to the pier tonight."

"Why?"

"Because…" He was about to blurt it all out but something shut him up. "Just come…we'll have fun, trust me."

She chuckled at his silliness and gladly complied, "Of course I trust you. What time should I meet you there?"

"Seven"

"Okay…bye sweetie. Muah…" She hung up the phone gently.

"Bye…" He managed to say before collapsing on the floor in pain and horror.

"Good, you did well. Now let's get the show on the road."

"Rini! Daddy invited us to the pier tonight. We have to dress up, now don't we?" Serena used her baby voice with her little darling.

Rini cooed with joy and smiled sweetly at her young mother, whom she closely resembled.

Serena walked to the closet, humming to herself softly, "Now what are we going to wear?" She picked a few dresses and held them before Rini, quietly asking for her opinion. She finally "decided" on a short black v-neck dress for her mother. She chose a tickle-me-pink dress for herself.

"Your arms go in first…come on honey, push them out…good girl. Now you're head...oh no! Where's Rini? Mommy can't find her! There you are…you were hiding, weren't you?" Serena teased and blew a wet raspberry on Rini's tummy, making her gurgle with pleasure.

She tweaked her nose affectionately and stood up to get dressed. She slipped the mini-dress on her slender body and smoothed it down along her sides, "Perfect…"

She twirled around her bedroom, doing a waltz to the classical music that was playing softly in the background. Rini was standing on her mother's king-sized bed and doing her own version of the twist. It was a wonderful sight to behold; a beautiful young lady with such pure innocence and elegance and a darling little girl with twinkling eyes and a pretty smile.

Serena looked at the grandfather clock hanging on the wall and gasped loudly, "Oh no…if we don't hurry, we're going to be late." She gathered Rini into her arms and rushed out of the bedroom door.

"Young Mistress…where are you going?"

"Darien and I are going to the pier with Rini today…we're probably having dinner or something so please tell everyone that they may have the evening off."

The butler bowed and turned around, delighted to share the news with the rest of the staff. He considered himself very lucky…he was probably one of the few butlers who had such wonderful masters. His young master was considerate and the epitome of a gentlemen, with no ounce of badness in him. His beautiful wife was a darling to everyone and a pure sweetheart. She had a heart of gold and always tried to help them to make their jobs easier. Their delightfully sweet daughter was not brat at all, she loved her parents very much and was the apple of everyone's eyes; no wonder she had so many willing uncles and aunts in the house…they all loved her dearly. He could truly call them a loving family…the perfect family…

Serena laughed at the butler's happy expression and waved good-bye before exiting the house. She walked towards her red Mercedes and buckled her daughter in the back seat. She got into the driver's seat and smiled at her daughter through the review mirror, "Hold on tight…Mommy's going to drive like a maniac." She laughed at her daughter's funny expression and drove out of their sprawling estate.

'Hm…I wonder what Darien has planned for us tonight. He's always like this…giving us wonderful surprises….and he says he doesn't like surprises…'

After driving for almost half an hour, Rini became very fussy, she was whining and threatened to throw her toys out the window. Serena tried her best to hush her daughter but nothing worked.

"What's wrong pumpkin?"

"Wawwwwwwwww…"

"Oh no…you must be hungry. Bad Mommy…I forgot to feed you. Well, we'll be there soon so please stop crying. Put on a smile for Daddy…he'll be so happy to see you."

After a few more sniffles, Rini finally stopped crying and Serena breathed a sigh of relief, "That's Mommy's good girl…and look! We're here…"

Serena pulled up next to a very familiar black convertible. 'There's Darien's car…he must be here already.' She thought excitedly.

She quickly released her daughter from the car seat and started walking towards the pier, which was surprisingly surrounded by darkness.

'That's strange…why did Darien want us to meet him here?'

She looked around with marked confusion in her eyes and became very aware of the increasing darkness around them. She shivered slightly and hugged Rini tightly.

"Good evening Serena…"

Serena turned around at the chilling voice and found its owner. There standing in front of her was a beefy man with sun glasses, even though the sun has long set. He wore a tight muscle shirt that accentuated his bulging muscles and tattoos, most of them saying Diamond.

"Who are you?" Serena asked with a timid voice, while holding Rini even tighter.

The man gave an evil grin and answered proudly, "The name's Diamond…"

"Diamond…what do you want? I don't know you…"

Serena started to get really scared and prayed that Darien would get here soon. 'Where are you Darien?'

As if on cue, Darien walked from the back of Diamond, into the dim lights.

"Dary!" Serena shouted joyfully. "Thank goodness you're here…"

"Why…Dary, I'm so proud of you. You chose such a pretty wife." Diamond said in a mocking tone of voice.

"You know him? Dary…who is he?" Serena asked in disbelief. How could her handsome husband know such a weird thug like Diamond? She wouldn't believe in a million years that he would associate with people like him.

Diamond patted Darien on the back roughly and answered for him, "I'm his father."

Serena cringed at the mention of his father, she couldn't believe it…she wouldn't believe it. All these years, Darien had told her that he had lost his father heroically. His father had been a police officer and he got shot one night when he was on duty.

"Dary, please tell me this is all a joke…why have you lied to me all these years? I thought you trusted me…" Serena questioned Darien with her face turning more and more worried.

Darien gave a cold laugh and answered her without much expression, "Would you be proud of a father who turned into a gang leader and who threatened to kill you and your mother?"

Diamond turned his attention to Darien and asked in a veiled threat, "Aren't you proud of your old pops? I mean, it's not easy turning from the best police officer ever to walk the streets of Tokyo to the biggest gang leader in the world."

"No…" Darien muttered before he was shut up with a jab in the backside with something hard.

"I mean yes…"

"Catching criminals had become too easy for me…that's when I turned to my new-found hobby, making the cops catch me. I have to say, they're really bad at it…or actually, I'm too good for them." He uttered proudly, while giving Serena another one of his disturbing grins.

Serena couldn't stand it anymore, this freak was really scaring her and he was turning Darien into some sort of a zombie.

She reached out grabbed onto Darien's cold hand, pulling him towards her, "Come on Dary, let's just go home…please?"

Up to that point, she had been shielding Rini to the best of her abilities but when she made a grab for Darien's hand, she mistakenly revealed her daughter to Diamond's deadly glare.

"Look what we have here…my granddaughter, no doubt. She has my eyes…and my nose…and"

Before he could make one more sick comparison, Serena pulled Darien towards her car, ready to escape from this crazy man.

When she turned around, she gasped in horror, "Oh my gosh…there's more of you?"

Diamond pretended to look hurt and spoke in a sickening tone, "My little daughter-in-law doesn't want to stay and play."

"Dary, you can take them..."

Darien looked at Serena and without a word, took his hand from her grasp and walked back to Diamond.

"I can't be your Dary anymore. From now on, I'm taking my father's place in the gang."

Serena started to cry, making Rini wail right along with her. This can't be happening. What happened to her perfect family? What happened to the man she loved and still loves dearly? What happened to the gentle and caring Darien who wouldn't hurt a fly, much less be a gang member?

"No! Darien, don't do this to me…please…come back. Don't leave me…" Serena sobbed. "What about your daughter?" She held out the hysterical Rini, trying to force some emotion back into Darien.

"I can't…" His answer was as simple as that. No explanation, just a simple 'I can't…'

"Care to tell them why you can't…" Diamond urged but he couldn't get one word out of Darien so he assumed that he should be the one to enlighten them.

"I threatened him…yes, I threatened my own son. Big deal…I hated him before…hated him enough to want to kill him but now it's different. I need him to take over…so I made a little agreement with him."

Serena covered her ears and screamed at him, "No…I don't want to hear this. NO!"

Diamond walked over to Serena's huddled mass and pushed her hands painfully off her ears, "Oh but you do…I promised Darien that if he does what I tell him to do, I'll let you and that little doll of yours go."

"Please don't leave me, Dary. I love you…I love you so much. Remember the idle days spent together, daydreaming about each other…all those months before our wedding…all those desperate hours before Rini's arrival. Our journey together doesn't stop here…I can't live without you. Rini can't lose her father…she's too young…" Serena managed to utter before she collapsed entirely.

"I'm sorry Serena…but it's too late. I have to do this…I do love you, that's why I'm obliged to save you." Darien answered, finally showing some pain in his deep eyes. He silently begged for forgiveness, which Serena was not ready to give.

"NO! You're coming with me…" Serena screamed and rushed to Darien, dropping Rini while she made a grab for Darien.

She was inching close to him when a pair of strong arms pulled her back onto the floor. She kicked and screamed at the top of her lungs, even resorting to biting but it was no good. She finally gave up and crawled back to Rini's side, hugging her, trying to calm herself and her daughter down.

"I see you're going to make this difficult…leave now before I change my mind." He warned.

Darien stood Serena up and put Rini into her awaiting arms and pushed them towards her car, whispering quietly, "I love you Serena and I have never stopped loving you. Please forgive me…this is the only way." He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and pushed her closer to her waiting car.

Serena was still shocked from what was happening…her mind just wouldn't register it. She couldn't think straight, or even walk straight for that matter so she unknowingly let Darien guide her to her car.

Suddenly, a voice made them stop dead in their tracks, "Wait."

It was that simple, a simple word…a word that instilled so much horror and apprehension. Soon, men started piling around them so they had no choice but to turn back.

They stood in front of Diamond as he continued, "Hm…I changed my mind."

"What do you mean you changed your mind…we made a deal."

"A deal that I can easily back out of…besides, this is for your own good."

"What do you want?" Darien asked, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

"You have to learn to be a good leader…you have to learn to instill fear…you have to learn to control others…you have to learn to be ruthless. And what better way to learn that from…"

Darien knew what was coming, "No!"

"Yes…" Diamond said with a confident air, "Here's a gun. Take it." He offered it to Darien, who backed away, shaking his head.

"I said take it!" Diamond screamed.

Darien finally took it in his sweating hands and held it away from him as if it were a poisonous snake, ready to bite him at any time.

"Good, now aim it at them…go head." Diamond instructed.

"No…don't make me do this. Please…" Darien begged.

"Oh no, you're going to do this. I'll make it easier for you, you only have to kill one of them…your choice."

Serena shook her head and screamed at Diamond, "You filthy lowlife…who in their rightful mind would make their son do this…you're a devil…"

"Why thank you. Now, Darien, do it before I get mad and I'll kill both of them."

Darien slowly raised the gun barrel and pointed it between Serena and Rini.

"Good…now I'm going to give you ten seconds…just ten seconds. If you don't make your decision before the time is up…I'll just shoot both of them." Diamond laughed with pure evil, ready to see his son battle it out.

"Ready…ten." The countdown began.

"Nine…"

"No, Darien, please don't kill Rini. Please don't shoot her…please shoot me."

"Aww…now isn't that touching. Too bad it's all coming to an end…eight…"

"Wawww….!" Rini cried, trying to reach out for her mother.

"Your time is running out, Son. Do it now or they'll both die. Seven…"

Darien started sweating profusely. 'I can't do this…I can't shoot them…I can't…please God, don't make me do this…'

"Six…five…"

"Darien, listen to me. I have been so lucky these five blissful years that I have been blessed with you. The joy you have brought to my life has been endless…I am fully content with my life."

"Four…"

"But Rini has just learned to live …she still has many wonderful years ahead of her…she's too young to die…"

"Three…almost there!" Diamond continued relentlessly with the torture.

"You have to listen to me or else I'll never forgive you, Darien…I'll never forgive you. I'll come back and haunt you..."

"Two…"

Now, Serena became desperate as Darien has still not made a move yet, "Please Dary, just shoot me and get it over with…remember, I love you no matter what."

She smiled sweetly and whispered softly to him, "I love you, Dary…I'll see you soon…" She closed her eyes one last time and waited from the fated shot.

"One!"

"I love you too…"

A shot rang out…blood spurted everywhere…heart-wrenching lament could be heard miles upon miles away…

"Nooooooooooooooo!"

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I'm really sorry if it didn't meet up to your standards…I tried my best. Please leave your comments and speculation (about what happened in the end). As of now, I'm not planning another chapter but if the demand is too great, I will consider an epilogue. And if you didn't like the story, can you please tell me how I can improve? Thanks again!

Ladie of Avalon


	2. Epilogue

Nope, I still don't own Sailor Moon…depressing, I know.

Epilogue

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"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Ms. Johnson."

Ms. Johnson beamed at her well-behaved third grade class. She was lucky to be teaching an elementary grade in the well-known and extremely rich Tokyo Elementary School. It was everyone's dream job and the class could be any teacher's haven. She loved each and every child as her own and could really say that she saw them grow up.

"As you all know, we're going into our heroes unit. For this unit, we will be learning about different kinds of heroes, especially those heroes everyone look up to, like the firefighters and policemen around us. However, are these the only kind of heroes out there?" Ms. Johnson asked her smart class.

Everyone answered her uniformly, "No!"

"That's right. Heroes are everywhere. They don't always have to be saving lives…they could be people in our lives who have made a difference."

A little shy boy raised his hand and asked quietly, "Can our parents be heroes, too?"

"Of course, Timothy. Our parents are probably one of the most important heroes out there. Without them, you all wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be able to teach such a wonderful group of children."

Everyone smiled proudly at her sweet compliment.

"Before we learn more about heroes, I want to find some heroes around you. For tomorrow's homework, please go home and come up with a short presentation for class. You can ask your parents for help, of course. I just want you to look around you and find an everyday hero that you extremely admire…and if it is possibly, please invite them to class tomorrow. This is a mini project slash show and tell."

Everyone became quite excited at the mention of show and tell…

"I'm going to bring my Uncle Bob. He's a firefighter." Little Thomas Mizuno announced with an air.

"Hm…I don't know any firefighters or police officers but my Dad is my hero…he saved my fish from drowning in the toilet." Little Michael Hino added.

Little Robert Aino got all excited and started bouncing up and down in his seat, "I'm going to bring my Dad too. He's better than your Dad."

"Is not…"

"Is too…"

"Is not…"

"Okay, children…enough." Ms. Johnson warned gently.

"Who are you going to bring, Rini?" A voice demanded, breaking Rini's train of thought.

"I still haven't decided yet. I guess you will all just have to find out tomorrow." Rini answered, raking her mind for ideas.

"Aww…come on Rini, just think of something. I want to know. I told you that I'm going to bring Uncle Bob…" Amy Mizuno's boy whined annoyingly.

Before he could make another sound, Ms. Johnson announced that it was recess time so they could all go outside and play, saving Rini from further questioning from the insistent boy.

"Thank you, Ms. Johnson." Rini gratefully said.

"No problem, Rini. Hm…since most of the other kinds are bringing their fathers, why don't you bring yours? It would be very interesting."

Rini nodded hesitantly and walked out into the playground, asking herself quietly, "What am I going to do?"

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"Hey, sweetie. How was school today?" Rini's old, plump nurse asked her.

"It was okay, I guess…" She answered.

Rini ran into the living room, while her nurse chased after her, trying to unzipper her jacket.

"Mommy!" Rini shouted excitedly, always happy to see her mother.

"Rini…how was school?" Serena asked while tickling her little daughter, eliciting giggles and hiccups from her laughing daughter.

"It was okay…"

"Well, that's good to hear. Why don't you settle down and start any homework you have." Serena advised her little daughter.

"Mommy…"

"Yes, pumpkin?"

"Um…uh…"

"What's wrong?" Serena asked, slightly worried at her daughter's stuttering.

"Oh, nothing's wrong. It's just that for tomorrow, Ms. Johnson wants us to do a presentation."

Serena laughed at her own silliness, "Well, that sounds like fun. What is it on?"

"Heroes."

"That's a wonderful topic. Why don't you do it on your Aunty Rei, who's a wonderful lawyer that helps all those people who are poor. Or…how about your Aunty Amy…she's a doctor who treats little children all over the world.

Rini contemplated for a minute and shook her head, "Nah…I don't want to."

"Well, do you have anyone in mind?"

Rini nodded timidly and whispered in her soft baby voice, "Daddy…"

"Excuse me…" Serena asked, not quite sure she heard correctly.

"Everyone else is doing it on their Daddy and I want to do it on my Daddy, too."

Serena collapsed onto the sofa, feeling as if the energy had been abruptly sucked out of her slender body.

She was still in awe when all of a sudden, she heard Rini scream, "It's not fair! I want to do it on Daddy but I don't even know who Daddy is. I have never seen him in my whole life…where is he, Mommy? Did he leave us? Why did he leave us, Mommy? Why doesn't Daddy love us?"

"He does love us…"

"How do you know Mommy if he's not here with us? If he loves us, why are we alone?" Rini shouted angrily.

Serena could not find her voice to respond.

"Never mind…I don't care about my stupid Daddy. He's not a hero...and he'll never be my hero." Rini screamed at her mother before storming out of the room, leaving Serena sobbing loudly at her retreating back.

"Serena…I think it is time you tell her about Young Master." The old nurse advised.

Serena looked up at her and questioned, "Do you really think so? Is she ready to know?"

The old nurse walked over to Serena and hugged her tightly, "She's as ready as she'll ever be. It's now or never…"

Serena nodded and dragged her feet up the vast stairs, trying desperately to gather enough courage to talk to her daughter.

'I guess she's right. Rini has every right to know who her father is, and he deserves to be her hero.' Serena thought as she timidly knocked at her daughter's bedroom door.

"Rini, are you in there?"

"No…"

"Please let me in…I need to talk to you."

"I said no!" Rini answered stubbornly.

"Open the door right now!" Serena demanded said in her stern voice.

Slowly, the door opened, revealing a red-eyed Rini with a tear-stained face.

"I'm so sorry Rini…I didn't mean to yell at you." Serena hugged the sniffling Rini and led her onto her bed.

"Lie down here with Mommy. I want to tell you a story."

"I don't want to hear a story."

"Sh…be quiet and just listen. This isn't any story…this is a story of our hero…your father."

Rini looked up at her mother and nodded slightly, "Okay…"

Serena smiled and breathed a sigh of relief before starting her story, "Once upon a time…"

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Once upon a time, there lived a young boy named Darien. Although he was a good boy, he was always quiet and loved to play alone. One day, he met a little girl named Serena and he fell in love with her at first sight. She slowly brought him out into the world and taught him to enjoy life…more importantly, life with her. After many years have gone by and they both grew up, he finally gathered up the courage to ask her to marry him. She said yes.

After a while, Serena became pregnant and they were blessed with a baby girl. They named her Rini. She was a pretty little darling, taking after the wonderful traits of both her mother and her father.

One evening, when she was still young, her Daddy invited her and Mommy to go to a pier. They got all dressed up and they went there immediately, waiting patiently for him to arrive.

They waited for a long time but he did not come. Instead, an evil monster named Diamond came. He wanted to take Darien away from Serena and Rini and make him too bad things just like he did himself.

Serena wouldn't let Darien go because she loved him too much so Diamond decided to hurt her. He counted…from ten to one. One number at a time. During those ten seconds, poor Darien was supposed to choose to either kill his beloved wife or his precious daughter.

The evil Monster started to count, "Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two… one."

Suddenly, a shot ran out, blood spurted everywhere, and crying could be heard everywhere.

Darien had shot himself. He couldn't bear to see his loved ones die so instead of having to face the guilt for an eternity, he chose the only thing he thought was right…to sacrifice himself to protect his family. Even though it was a very dangerous move, he had to take the risk because it meant that there would be a millionth of a chance that both Serena and Rini would live.

When Diamond saw that his only son just killed himself and it was partly…no, all his fault, that was the last straw and he lost his mind completely. His underlings did not have enough time to turn their attention to the mother and child. By the time they fully comprehended what had just happened, the police officers had arrived.

Darien chose to die that fateful evening…he chose to surrender his own life in order to save his wife and his daughter.

Darien…was my father.

He is not your everyday hero who saves lives on a daily basis…he is not someone whom many people admired…few knew him…and few really understood him.

But that night, he proved himself to be a ready hero, always prepared to give up his life for others. That night…he had become a hero, a true hero.

That is why he is my hero. He isn't the greatest man alive…oh no…he's far from that. He was my father…he was the greatest man ever to live. And now, he is, and forever more, my hero. I love you Daddy..."

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I hope the ending was passable. I know it wasn't that great but at least the story comes to an ending. Some of you asked why Darien couldn't have just shot Diamond. Well, I forgot to make this clear but he (Diamond) had guns aimed at Serena and Rini already so one bad move and they all die. Please forgive me if this story seems too far-fetched. After all, it did come from my silly imagination, hehe. Thank you for reading! And please tell me how I can improve for future stories.

Ladie of Avalon


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